Regina High School issued the following announcement on July 23.
It has been a few weeks since we reached out, and I hope you have been enjoying the beautiful summer we have been having!
As you know, Governor Whitmer released the Return to School Roadmap for all schools - public, private, and charter. In partnership with the Archdiocese of Detroit, we at Regina have been working to devise a plan, based on the guidelines set forth from the state, for the safest possible return to school. The safety of our students and staff is our primary consideration as we navigate these unprecedented times. Superintendent Kevin Kijewski explains the Archdiocese of Detroit’s Return to School Plan in the letter linked below:
https://us12.campaign-archive.com/?e=&u=c3572bec2cea5ba13208d3a4c&id=ef1e630289(link is external)
At Regina, many behind the scenes actions have already been implemented to maximize student and staff safety when we physically return to the building. In addition to the ongoing and extensive cleaning of the entire school, the following items have been purchased:
• Masks with Regina’s logo for every staff member and student
• Air Purification Systems for Every Classroom
• High Powered Cleaning/Sanitization Machines
• Hand Sanitizing Stations throughout the School
• Social Distancing Reminders and Signs
• Plastic Shields for all Office and Cafeteria Areas
• Lysol Wipes/Hand Sanitizer/Sinks in Classrooms
• Touchless Water Bottle Filling Stations
• Planned Cleaning in Every Classroom During Class Exchange
With August just around the corner, we continue to monitor the evolving situation, but we assure you that school administrators are working diligently to develop a course of action that meets the needs of our students and teachers. Since the State of Michigan is still in Phase 4 of the governor’s Safe Start Plan, many things have to be considered. Based on the responses to our parent and staff surveys regarding remote learning, we are all in agreement that face-to-face instruction is the ideal scenario for everyone involved. However, a return to school plan needs to be flexible given the many possible public health scenarios we may encounter in the weeks ahead.
Regina High School’s Phase 4 reopening plan utilizes a system of hybrid instruction, a combination of in-school and remote learning. Since we are committed to making the school experience as safe as possible, the plan includes reducing by half the number of students in the building each day. All students will be actively engaged with their teachers in “real time” during each class period, one-half attending in person and the other half virtually through a live streaming system. Students will be assigned to cohort teams alphabetically that will be on campus two or three days each week. While Team A attends class in person, Team B attends remotely, all during the set hours of the school day. Teams will rotate in-person and virtual attendance. Students whose team is not physically in the classroom must attend class virtually during the scheduled class period.
Your support and the many positive comments you made when quick decisions regarding distance learning had to be made last March is very much appreciated. During the past months, school staff has had time to review the feedback from parent, student, and teacher surveys, collaborate with peers in area schools, and attend numerous workshops and conferences regarding education during a world-wide pandemic. We believe that the Regina High School community worked together to provide a near seamless transition to remote learning last semester, but we also know that these past months have given us time to plan for an improved learning experience that meets the needs of all students.
Even as the first bell of the new school year quickly approaches, the latest guidelines and statistics regarding the coronavirus are ever-changing. In essence, the school’s reopening plans must be flexible and fluid to address a variety of potential situations. As we move closer to our start date, we will communicate more detailed information to provide the framework for our first weeks of the 2020-21 school year. Please know that we remain committed to keeping our Regina family safe while delivering the highest quality of instruction. We pray that we can move to Phase 5 quickly and the delivery of full, in-person instruction to all of our students as the situation regarding the pandemic improves.
The link below is a tentative calendar of important dates. More activities will be added as we can make decisions given the prevailing conditions.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1p3gxfGa_G8U73II7Eq9O8V_4V8Sbj_xKjQkzcySxvxs/edit?usp=sharing
Original source can be found here.
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